The present invention relates to all-purpose, super concentrated liquid detergent compositions. Specifically, it relates to a super concentrated liquid detergent for cleaning dishware. In particular, the invention relates to a novel liquid detergent composition comprising a primary surfactant system, a secondary surfactant system, and water, in which the ratio of a primary surfactant contained in the primary surfactant system to a secondary surfactant contained in the secondary surfactant system, based on the solids content of the detergent composition, is at least 2.7:1.
Liquid detergent compositions have been widely used for the washing of dishware, either manually or automatically, for some time. Consumers generally select a liquid detergent composition based on a variety of factors, all weighted differently by the individual consumer. These factors include the liquid detergent composition""s cost, its ability to cut grease, its ability to maintain and generate foam or suds, and, when used to manually wash dishware, its mildness when brought in contact with the users skin. Superiority in only one of these factors, however, will generally not be sufficient to provide a commercially acceptable product. For example, a liquid detergent composition that is superior in its ability to cut grease may contain an excessive amount of anionic and nonionic surfactants, which may cause the composition to irritate the skin of the consumer during use. Additionally, a liquid detergent composition that is significantly less expensive that its competitors will generally contain less surfactants, the cleaning component of the detergent composition, and thus reduce the cleaning ability of the liquid detergent.
Therefore, there exists a need to provide a liquid detergent composition that is inexpensive to manufacture, has superior grease cutting ability, provides long-lasting foam or suds, and is mild to the human skin upon contact. To date, no product that has the unique combination of superior cleaning performance, acceptable mildness to the skin, and cost-effectiveness is commercially available.
A search of relevant prior art indicates that the present invention is novel and nonobvious. European Patent No. EP 070,076 discloses a composition comprising a linear alkyl benzene sulfonic acid, linear alkyl benzene sulfonate and alkali metal, alkaline earth metal, amine and ammonium salts thereof (herein referred to as xe2x80x9cLASxe2x80x9d surfactants), in combination with an alkyl polyglycoside (herein referred to as xe2x80x9cAPGxe2x80x9d surfactants). However, the ratio of the LAS surfactant to the APG surfactant according to this document does not approach the high primary-to-secondary surfactant ratio of the present invention.
European Patent No. EP 509,608 similarly discloses a light liquid detergent composition comprising an LAS surfactant and an APG surfactant. This document, however, also fails to disclose the high primary-to-secondary surfactant ratio of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,839, U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,812, and International Publication No. WO 96/22347 disclose, for example, additional compositions containing an LAS surfactant, as well as other primary surfactants according to this invention. International Publication No. WO 96/24655 describes a light duty cleaning composition comprising 10-30% by weight of an alkyl ether sulphate and alkyl sulphate, and at least 1% by weight alcohol ethoxylate, thus also disclosing several of the primary surfactants according to this invention. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,545,622 and 5,534,500 describe compositions comprising an alkyl polyglycoside. Thus, while the individual components according to the present invention may be individually known, none of the documents disclosing the individual components, however, disclose the high primary-to-secondary surfactant ratio of the present invention.
The all-purpose super concentrated liquid detergent composition according to the present invention for the first time possess the highly desirable combination of high initial and lasting foaming and emulsifying properties, optimal cost and improved mildness, performance, and stability characteristics, and this unique combination of properties is directly attributable to the detergent compositions recited in the appended claims. An object of the present invention is to provide an all-purpose, super-concentrated, liquid detergent composition that was optimized for cost and performance.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a super concentrated liquid detergent composition that has a cleaning performance that meets or exceeds the performance of other leading brand detergent compositions.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a super concentrated liquid detergent composition that is mild and does not irritate the skin during and after use.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a super concentrated liquid detergent composition that can be used in manual cleaning operations to clean a variety of dishware, including dishes, cooking utensils, cutlery, tumblers, crockery, pots and pans.
These and additional objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention will be realized by the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.